Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF
Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF
Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF
- No tags were found...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
BOX 7.1 Nicaragua: Coordination promotes <strong>the</strong>rights <strong>of</strong> children <strong>with</strong> disabilitiesIn 2002, 15 Local Commissions <strong>of</strong> Parents <strong>with</strong>Disabled <strong>Children</strong> were established in Nicaragua.Some 168 people from 42 organizationsworking at <strong>the</strong> municipal level took part, and 531parents and family members in 19 municipalitieswere trained in detecting disabilities as well asin <strong>the</strong> education and rehabilitation needs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>children concerned. Comprehensive monitoringvisits were carried out in <strong>the</strong>se municipalities.With financing from <strong>the</strong> Swedish InternationalDevelopment Cooperation Agency (SIDA), newearly childhood education centres were establishedand existing centres restructured to operate<strong>with</strong> active participation from <strong>the</strong> local community.All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> centres received rehabilitationequipment, and parents and families receivedtraining in how to use it. The early childhoodeducation centre model supported by thisproject was adopted by <strong>the</strong> ministries <strong>of</strong> Health,Education and <strong>the</strong> Family, and was replicated ino<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> country.Source:’<strong>UNICEF</strong> Nicaragua 2002 Annual Report’ (internaldocument), <strong>UNICEF</strong>, Managua, 2002.in general. Similarly, explicit priority is given to children<strong>with</strong> disabilities as an integral element <strong>of</strong> Uganda’scommitment to provide free primary education to fourchildren in every family (see box 6.7 above). In Brazil,inclusion is part <strong>of</strong> wider efforts to address problems<strong>of</strong> poverty, marginalization and illiteracy. Some 5 millionchildren have benefited from Bolsa Familia, anationwide programme providing grants to <strong>the</strong> poorestfamilies to send <strong>the</strong>ir children to school. 115 This programmeis being implemented along <strong>with</strong> a nationalinitiative on inclusive education and is fur<strong>the</strong>r streng<strong>the</strong>nedby municipal level capacity-building efforts. 116 Theexperience <strong>of</strong> Brazil will provide valuable knowledgeabout <strong>the</strong> ways in which <strong>the</strong> special needs <strong>of</strong> children<strong>with</strong> disabilities can best be addressed in such largescale,multidimensional programmes.These examples show that inclusive initiatives canpotentially benefit excluded children collectively.Separate budgets for different excluded groups<strong>of</strong> children – children living on <strong>the</strong> street, workingchildren and so on – can result in <strong>the</strong> inefficientdistribution <strong>of</strong> resources and an overlap <strong>of</strong> provision.Inclusion has also been linked to fundamentaldemocratic processes, including participation in civilsociety and in voting and local decision-making. 117Non-governmental organizations and internationalorganizations have <strong>the</strong> potential to act as catalystsat <strong>the</strong> national level, raising awareness <strong>of</strong> disabilityissues and bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r diverse actorssuch as government ministries, local authorities,development agencies and children <strong>with</strong> disabilitiesand <strong>the</strong>ir families. Box 7.1 provides an example <strong>of</strong>initiatives taken in this respect through <strong>UNICEF</strong>’scooperation in Nicaragua.The rights <strong>of</strong> children <strong>with</strong> disabilities are <strong>of</strong>tenmost effectively promoted when ’disability issues’do not come under <strong>the</strong> responsibility <strong>of</strong> a singleministry. The mainstreaming <strong>of</strong> disability issues intoexisting programmes and throughout establishedsectors, such as health, education and social welfareministries, might still involve establishing a focal pointfor disability to ensure that children <strong>with</strong> disabilitiesare included in all programmes. Without this,disability issues are in danger <strong>of</strong> being submergedand overlooked.One effective initiative has been to establish a nationalcoordination committee that oversees disabilityissues in all ministries and at different administrativelevels to ensure intersectoral coordination. Organizations<strong>of</strong> disabled persons should always be fullyrepresented on an equal basis. In Turkey, for example,intersectoral coordination has been promoted through<strong>the</strong> establishment <strong>of</strong> a coordinating agency, <strong>the</strong> Administration<strong>of</strong> Disabled Persons. 118 An alternative isrepresented by South Africa, where both <strong>the</strong> Officeon <strong>the</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Child, and <strong>the</strong> Office on <strong>the</strong> Status<strong>of</strong> Disabled Persons, which are responsible for<strong>the</strong> Integrated National Disability Strategy, are basedin <strong>the</strong> President’s Office. 119The development <strong>of</strong> national legislation and policy toaddress disability issues is an opportunity to ensurethat public spaces, buildings, recreation areas andtransport systems are conceived or modified in sucha way that <strong>the</strong>y can be used by all citizens and thatgovernment departments <strong>the</strong>mselves take a lead in<strong>the</strong> employment <strong>of</strong> persons <strong>with</strong> disabilities. In thisregard, a number <strong>of</strong> countries have made notableprogress in modifying access to streets, buses, trainsand some buildings for persons <strong>with</strong> disabilities.Access is not only a matter concerning <strong>the</strong> physicalenvironment but involves enabling children <strong>with</strong> disabilitiesto overcome barriers to communication andday-to-day interaction <strong>with</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs. For example, signlanguage has been given <strong>the</strong> status <strong>of</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r tongueunder Finland’s new school legislation. 120 In Centraland Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Africa, Braille materials and <strong>the</strong> provision<strong>of</strong> trained sign language interpreters are madeavailable by many governments in <strong>the</strong> region. 121As regards entry into <strong>the</strong> workforce for young persons<strong>with</strong> disabilities who have reached <strong>the</strong> age <strong>of</strong> accessto employment, governments in many Europeanand Asian countries have introduced legislation andregulations that require employers to reserve a certainquota <strong>of</strong> jobs for persons <strong>with</strong> disabilities. O<strong>the</strong>rcountries have introduced anti-discrimination lawsthat make it unlawful for employers to discriminate on33 <strong>Promoting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Children</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong> Innocenti Digest No. 13